A sustainable overall solution for Sierra Leone

The third project the AfricAlive expedition has visited lays in Sierra Leone. Between 1991 and 2001 a horrific civil war has brought Sierra Leone on the edge of collapse. And although the country has vast amounts of minerals - of which the diamonds are the most notorious - and the land is fertile, it belongs to the poorest countries in the world. Since there is peace, the country is slowly recovering. But the war has destructed almost the entire infrastructure, including most medical facilities. As a result of the lack of medical attention, more than 40% of all children dies before reaching the age of five and the average life expectancy is no more than forty years.

During the opening of the Magbenteh Community Hospital in Makeni, where he was present on the request of a friend, the Dutch Fred Nederlof was moved by the story of the founding father: Harald Pfeiffer. As a Swiss born physiotherapist working in Sierra Leone for already 18 years, he had - with enormous efforts - accomplished the construction of the hospital. However there was no money left for the running costs; personnel, medication, maintenance, etc. Back in Holland Fred Nederlof founded the Lion Heart Foundation (LHF), with as main goal the temporary adaptation of the hospital for the period of ten years.

Among others due to the support of the Lion Heart Foundation the hospital is up and running as we speak. But to keep the hospital open, it depends on foreign support. To make the hospital self sustainable in the future, the LHF has drawn up a masterplan. In this plan the hospital will generate revenues from paying patients, get support from the government and plans are formulated to create revenues from projects in the region. We focus on two of these projects; the “Best of both worlds” palm oil project and a dilapidated hydro electric plant.

In the area around Yele live around 3.500 farmers of small scale palm oil plantations. These farmers work mostly with a less favourable breed of palms and bad equipment. On pieces of land of about 2 to 3 acres, they grow oil palms. The fruits of these palms are being converted into oil by a primitive and labour intensive process. This reduces the quality and quantity of the oil and hereby the revenues of the farmers.

The best of both worlds palm oil project consists of the development of sustainable commercial activities in the agricultural sector. An oil palm nursery has been started, in which seedlings of a ‘superior’ oil palm will grow to young oil palms, before they are planted on the plantations. Besides the nursery plans are being drawn up to construct an mechanical oil pressing facility. This resulted in the founding of a commercial company, Ned Oil ltd. Farmers from around Yele can use this pressing facility to transform their palm fruits into palm oil, resulting in a higher quality as well as a larger quantity. The management of the facility will eventually be recruited from the local population and all other employees will be recruited from the local population from the start.

After preliminary plans for the construction of a large centrally run plantation, the LHF now wants to involve the local farmers in their plans and they are now investigating the viability of a micro credit program. The advantage of this is that the project can count on the support from the local population and already existing palm plantations are being used and improved. Farmers can purchase a ‘complete package’, consulting of the superior palm, the required equipment, advice and supervision and the possibility to press the palm fruits mechanically. Research has showed that this will improve the revenues of the farmers with 50%. Thereby the plan will lead to higher employment rates and entrepreneurship is stimulated. A survey, held under 3.500 farmers, revealed that the plan could count on the active support of 95% of the farmers. To keep the farmers involved and informed, regular meetings with them are conducted in which they are asked for their point of view.

The second project is the dilapidated hydro electrical plant. In Yele a hydro electric plant opened in 1991, just before the civil war broke out. The plant used the water of the Yele river. After just two weeks of service, rebels came to the plant and destroyed it. All that remains now is the basic structure. All electrical components, like the transformers, have disappeared. The LHF is planning to rebuild the power plant so it can supply Yele with electricity. In this way, the palm oil pressing facility can also be supplied with sustainable energy. However, this requires a - to Sierra Leones’ standards – enormous investment. The LHF is now working on a second plan to reconstruct the power plant. The hereby generated electricity will result in a faster development of Yele, create employment and will provide the palm oil pressing facility with sustainable energy.

The profits, generated by Ned Oil ltd. will partly flow back to the hospital and will contribute to a hospital that will be financially independent from foreign support.

The LHF works for their projects with partners that are involved in a very personally. Yacht, one of our sponsors is a supporter of the LHF. Besides financial support, of which they now exactly what is is spent on, they also sent personnel to Sierra Leone to assist on projects on a regular basis. It is good to see that there is a personal connection between the people of Yacht and the local population of Sierra Leone. A good example is the CEO of Yacht, mr. Ockels, who is named ‘paramount chief’, a honorary title given to him to express their gratitude for his support.

The AfricAlive team find this project of the Lion Heart Foundation an example of existing and future development projects. The baseline is always: 1. Support from the local community, 2. Continuation of the project after the NGO distances itself and 3. Protection of the local environment by undertaking in a socially responsible manner. Next to this this project stimulates own responsibility, entrepreneurship and it creates employment, directly and indirectly.